A Lesson Well Learned
by Mable
Summary: 3 and 4 become curious about kissing and decided to use the other Stitchpunks to get answers. Will they find what they're looking for, or will they stumble on something that they didn't expect? 4x8, some 5x3. Oneshot


**Mable: This is a long overdue request for KasPer-ParSio which took me a bit more time to finish than it should of. Sorry about the delay! I guess I've been bogged down recently, but I didn't forget the request and under every opportunity I was trying to get it finished. ^-^ Anyway, I do not own 9, Enjoy!**

* * *

_**A Lesson Well Learned **_

It was a curious enough thing. A small act of affection that somehow brought out such drastic emotions. Realistically, the twins should have known that they were wandering into unknown territory when they came upon the romance novel, and yet they had still read. In the beginning prologue there was an abrupt scene that involved two humans pressing their lips together and it took their interest in seconds. Yet as they started the book they realized the scene was clearly not for a while. They didn't find as many answers as they expected.

Halfway through the book and they still hadn't found the mouthing scene yet. By then they sort of lost hope in the book and instead decided that they would seek out the others instead. It seemed only logical that they could study this process more thoroughly but even that started out with the simplest course of action; asking the other Stitchpunks and seeing what they knew, as the books weren't telling their secrets. Three and Four were ready to analyze and ready to learn, hurrying out of their study and into the Library to ask the others of their opinions.

Thankfully the first two Stitchpunks who would seem to know about the subject were One and Two. Thankfully they were nearby and speaking together on their own about trying to play a game of dominos with some that they had found. One's argument was that there wasn't enough, but the twins weren't really in the mood to discuss that and instead outright approach. As usual Two was friendly and ultimately willing to escape One's little fit. "Good morning, you two!" He greeted and they waved to him pleasantly.

"What do you two need?" He asked and because of this the twins began a desperate attempt to get him to understand. He took a few guesses at their hand gestures before Three succeeded in getting through. Four made a mental note that pressing lips to a balled fist repeatedly seemed to get the message through well enough. "You're asking about kissing?" Two asked and the twins glanced to each other before nodding. They supposed that the action was known as kissing and were willing to accept the term if Two was using it.

"That's quite an interest choice of subject." He complimented, yet One seemed aghast, "Kissing? That is not interesting, Two, that's inappropriate. Especially for their age." Two waved it off, "Of course it's not! It's a tender gesture that anyone, young or old, should be able to inquire about." He then smiled to the hooded twins, "Now then, what would you like to know?" The shrugged and made eager hand gestures, obviously wanting to know more and unable to explain all of the questions to the Inventor.

"Where do I begin?" One interrupted, "You don't." Coming closer with a clear look of annoyance to which Two suddenly got a mischievous idea. "How about you explain it, One? After all, you have kissed before." The Leader suddenly reared back in alarm and the twins were immediately perked. Having someone who actually had done the act before was much better than just asking the basic questions. They both dipped around Two and came closer, tuning their audio receptors on One, waiting for him to speak.

"I- That is not- It doesn't apply here." He insisted, but Two apparently wanted to pry One, "I think it should. You see, girls, a long time ago One was just as curious as you two are. So he-." One interrupted, "I have a voice. I can tell them myself. Creator knows what nonsensical thing you would add in just to fracture my image." He straightened himself and looked down to the twins before him. "I wasn't simply curious. I was also an adult and the other party was nearly hysterical." The twins looked surprised and he corrected, "Hysterical before what I did."

He seemed uncomfortable and Four noted that perhaps kissing was more intimate than anticipated. Three agreed and they looked to One who continued, "It was not anything more than that. A kiss on the neck then was moved to the lips. Of course, I was an adult at the time." Two came behind the twins and rested his hands on each shoulder, "He's being modest, he was genuinely curious, and don't let his progressing grumpy nature fool you. Kissing is a very safe and very pleasing way to show affection for one another."

The Leader was sputtering at his wording, and for being undermined, so the twins decided that they had gotten enough information from the source and went to move on. Though Four wasn't exactly sure of the dispute that occurred as they were walking away. What with Two coyly responding, "And you said that I would add things in." The Leader scoffed, "Why would I feel the need to lie? That was exactly what happened." He offered to which Two reminded, "Well I for one don't recall hysterics at the time." This confused Four who didn't understand why Two would've been there at all.

Either way they continued along to the next possible Stitchpunk to explain. This would be their sisterly figure known as Seven. Unfortunately, Seven wasn't alone and was standing with Nine and Six. She was speaking to the zippered male while the other drew nearby. Three suggested for Four to ask Seven while she went to distract Nine, then dashed over to the zippered male's side before beckoning him to follow her. Four doubted that her twin really planned to take him anywhere and waited until they were over with Six before she approached Seven and tapped on her shoulder pleasantly.

The Warrior looked to her and gave a friendly smile, "Hello Four. I was wondering where you were." Four released a silent giggle and Seven offered, "What do you need?" The twin repeated the kissing gesture until Seven caught on. "You're… Asking about kissing?" the same fluster that One had earlier returned, but much stronger. It was clear that while One's behavior came from experience Seven's came from the lack of. "I'm not sure I could help you with that." Seven tried to cover her uneasiness and steer the younger away. Yet Four pried by showing One and Two's numbers. "You saw them kissing?!"

Seven asked in alarm and Four shook her head quickly and tried to show that the two had explained some. Finally she understood and asked, "You want to know more?" The small female nodded vigorously and quickly showed a picture of the book cover as to explain why. Seven paused, trying to think, before admitting, "I probably don't have much insight on kissing, but… Here." She leaned down a bit and lifted the twin's hood before pecking her lips to the twins' forehead lovingly. Four was surprised and it was enjoyable, but wasn't the same as the book.

"Usually kisses are a sign of affection, but not of just one kind. Different types can mean different affections." Four perked at this in interest; it made since, but she had only been thinking of kisses as being romantic events. "That's all I can give you." Seven answered with laughter in her voice, "but I hope you enjoy it just the same." The younger female nodded vigorously and hurried over to seek out her twin, grabbing Three's arm and pulling her to the side while Nine watched in confusion and Seven still laughed to herself.

Four quickly explained what Seven said and Three was just as curious, wanting to see this other style of kissing and bowing her head eagerly at Four. They tested the kiss and agreed that it was more of a sibling gesture than a romantic one. Yet it brought an entirely new world to a single action and in their thrill they decided that they wanted to try more. They questioned what kissing would feel like on the cheek, or on the shoulder, or on the neck like One and Two had suggested. They hadn't thought of the comment back then, but it was also another way of kissing.

They knew they had to test it out and see more about it. There were two males present in the area that looked like suitable subjects. Four wondered if they should go to Nine as he was significantly closer to them, yet Three insisted that they got to Six. After all, he didn't receive much affection because of his eccentric behavior, because of this Three managed to convince Four that he needed the affection more and they headed over to where he was drawing. He wasn't paying attention to anything else in the room except for the scribbles on the paper laid out before him.

So he didn't really acknowledge the twins until they were right upon him. Only then did he look upwards at them with the usual unfocused gaze. It was as though he was in a trace that he was slowly awakening from and returning to the world. The twins meanwhile whispered silent words amongst each other as they wondered what to do to Six. Kissing him on the neck would be difficult with him wearing his key, kissing him on the head would be odd with his yarn, even if the twins wanted the opportunity to fondle, and on the lips seemed completely out of bounds.

They were starting to see the difference. All kisses were intimate, but the mouth was the romantic spot, and neither Three nor Four felt that way for the Artist. There was no doubt that they did love him though and were willing to show it to him. Suddenly Four had an idea that she suggested with Three, pointing down to Six's pen tipped hands. If there was anything significantly different for Six, it would most definitely be the hands, and if this was the case then perhaps he would react to the hands differently than the others would.

Three made the first move; she tended to do so under most circumstances. She bent down and took ahold of Six's ink covered hand and lifted it just a bit while Six watched in confusion, other hand clinging to his key. She rubbed a little of the ink off of the top with her arm and then gently pressed her mouth against one of the bolts on the top of his hand. Four watched Six's reaction; his optics widened, his pulse most likely was raising, he inhaled sharply, and he seemed unsure how to react. However, she did notice his other hand loosening on the key and took this as him relaxing.

She cautiously reached forward to coax it away from the key before lifting it. She turned it over and pressed her lips to a clean section of the palm. He released a small noise that neither could decipher before both twins pulled back to see the reaction he would give, smiling friendly smiles. He stared for a few seconds, looking back and forth, to his still held hands, and then gave his own smile. It was an honest one; he was confused, but he liked the gesture. As such the twins quickly whispered their findings to one another before gently releasing Six's hands, which quietly went to lock on his key.

After a few seconds he gave a tiny, "Thank you." Which was a lot for him. When Six barely spoke unless it was to tell about his dreams it was a good sign to get even two extra words out elsewise. They nodded happily, as though saying they were glad to, and continued on their way. Out of his view they continued to observe his behavior and noted the smile stayed on his face while his drawing patterns had also changed. They were quicker movements that were filled with life and vigor.

They noted that affectionate kisses raised mood considerably and with mood raised Stitchpunks would work harder and better. This meant that kisses could be used to boost self-esteem. Their minds seemed to go to the same place at the same time and they hurried off into the Library to search. It didn't take too long before they found their next subject for testing. Five was working on rewriting an old map when Three and Four came upon him. Four knew what they had planned, but could only watch as Three inched closer to his side.

"Hey." Five greeted with a warm smile, "Up to helping me?" He then looked back at the map, "I could use an extra set of hands." Of course this was interrupted when Three leaned forward and pressed her lips to the center of the taller male's patch. The Healer's reaction was as expect, "I-umm-…" He paused briefly before asking, "What was that for?" His voice raised slightly in pitch, his shyness crept in as per usual, and Three found herself releasing an awkward, silent giggle. Four didn't know what was stranger, Five's reaction or Three's, why had this one been so much different than with Six?

Three gave a sympathetic look and Five defend, "No, no. It's not- I didn't dislike it, it was nice- I mean- that came out wrong." He was growing even more nervous and Three was seeming to become more flustered while, behind the Healer's back, she gestured to remind her that they needed to research more. She just hoped that Three's affinity didn't get in the way of their research. Which, unfortunately, it rapidly did. Suddenly Three was trying to help Five with his map and no longer caring about the kisses. Four was absolutely stumped.

She headed off on her own, without her twin, to go finalize their research. Apparently kissing also triggered sudden memory loss as well as Three forgot all about her twin in only a matter of moments. Suddenly Four didn't really want to continue the research, but someone had to do it and if she was alone then so be it. Even if she was less than the leader of the two twins. She narrowed down the last subject to Nine, but couldn't find him anywhere, and even One and Two had retreated before she could question them on why Two had been watching One kiss someone.

Then she just happened to stumble upon someone who they had yet to encounter. The tallest and strongest of the Stitchpunks known as Eight, sitting to himself, guarding the Library casually. Eight was probably the Stitchpunk who Four knew the most about and yet all of it was from observation. Yet as much practical information Four knew about Eight, it wasn't really enough that it actually showed much of who Eight really was. Four's interest in the Guard was clear, but being alone made him much less confident.

Especially since he was an expert fighter who defended their kind and she was just a small Librarian that spent her days studying. She tried to hurry by when he suddenly interrupted, "Where's your twin?" he was sharpening his knife and looking down at it while doing so. Four felt slight relief that he wasn't watching her as she already felt uneasy enough. She quickly alit her optics and let an image of the number '5' fall on the floor before him. "Don't you two usually stay together?" He didn't seem really concerned, not even really curious, more like he was bored and wanted a conversation, even if it was one sided.

It wasn't as though Eight was talkative. While Four herself wasn't either her sudden annoyed look towards the floor with crossed arms showed she was clearly upset. "Guess not." He muttered to himself and Four wished that she could deny it, but again her lack of a voice came at the absolutely worse time. She was prepared to go seek out Three again and remind her of their arrangement when she became distracted watching Eight work. For a few seconds she merely stood there blankly and watched him work with the same interest that she put into her reading.

Even if the interest was less aimed at the knife and more at Eight himself. Again, Four had a bit of a fascination with Eight, and suddenly realized that she had an ample opportunity to watch and study him without her twins' questioning. She moved beside him and sat down on the book beside him, daintily folding her hands across her lap and watching patiently. Eight was clearly questioning, but it took a few seconds before he was actually willing to look away from his work and toward her.

Before he could ask she decided to cover herself by continuing her previous research to ask about kissing. She stood, made the motions, and when Eight didn't catch on she showed a picture of the cover. Eight stared at the image, "You're wanting to what?" She didn't understand why it was so complicated and did the kissing gestures with her fist before pointing to her lips repeatedly. He suddenly looked surprised, "…You sure about this? I'm not really, you know." She understood and nodded insistently, tapping her lips again, unsure why everyone was so hesitant to speak.

He set his knife to the side and stood before her, towering over her. She hadn't expected him to stand to talk and felt rather small in comparison, but with that smallness came a small warmth across her cheeks. He paused for a second and rubbed the back of his head and neck almost hesitantly before reaching forward and resting his hands on the smaller twin's shoulders. The hooded Stitchpunk blinked for a second before Eight started to move closer and Four was confused. She couldn't understand if he was going to whisper or whether or not he planned to say anything at all.

Though every thought in her mind ceased the second that Eight's marked mouth met hers. It was obviously a miscommunication between them and yet something stunning occurred. Four couldn't believe it, but this felt completely different than any of the small moments earlier. This brought on a tingle that spread through her face and body as she felt her legs begin to go weak beneath her. Thankfully Eight seemed to catch on and slipped his hands under her arms before pulling back, "Hold on, you're slipping a bit." He murmured, trying to clear what awkwardness he believed was there.

Four wasn't ready to stop such an amazing thing. Suddenly she knew what the book meant, suddenly she understood why it was such a powerful action, and suddenly she realized that she was very glad that she chose Eight to share this with, even if it was an accident. The second he looked to her she reached upwards and grasped onto his shoulders before pressing their lips tightly together once more to regain the pleasure. This kiss was much shorter and was even more confused as Four desperately tried to rub against Eight's mouth to get more pleasure.

Apparently Eight had his head in the right place because he was finally able to draw the moment to a close, pulling back but not hard enough to hurt the smaller Stitchpunk any. The quietness came back and Four finally managed to get control of herself. She also made a note that warm, passionate moments tended to leave the mind askew and leave the body moving without proper control, leaving to desperate moments. Eight seemed somewhat awkward as well and stood there silently, but silent wasn't too unusual with Eight.

She knew that he only saw her as a child, everyone did, and felt the embarrassment rush back in. She gently patted her cheeks and felt how hot they had become in a manner of seconds before turning to leave. To her surprise Eight wasn't ready to let her simply leave. "Wait…" Eight began, slowly, almost as though he was confused at his own behavior, "I'm not doing anything. You need some help or something?" It was an offer that Four couldn't refuse and she felt a jolt of adoration for the Guard.

With that she rushed towards him and hooked her arms around his much bigger one before beginning to drag him towards the back. He loyally followed along with her. Though Four noticed something odd as they headed off together. Even though they were no longer kissing the bubbling amorous feeling that had spiked in her chest felt just as strong as it had during the kiss.

This would need to be researched immediately. Thankfully she had the perfect partner for the task.

_**FIN**_

**Mable: I'm still not sure what I was getting hung up on but if I reread the entire thing I'll probably find it. That doesn't matter, though. I hope it was to your liking, or I hope I didn't massively screw up, and I hope you enjoyed!**


End file.
